Chapter 16
There had been many attempts to get to Dr. Gurber. Thanks to the
Hit team of lawyers, Most were afraid to tackle the Clinic and Dr. Gurber.
There was one lingering threat. The Hazlewoods. They had originally set
up the first formula. While it was illegal, and uncopyrighted, they were
going to claim that it was still theirs and not Allen's. Or, they wanted
to be compensated. Most attorneys felt that there was a good chance that
they were going to get something, Even though they had been arrested and
convicted for selling the drug originally. Dr. Gurber had gone through the
proper channels and had done the research. The medical community had
accepted Allen's side of things. But, again, something was going to
happen.
There were a group of renegade attorneys who would take on cases
just to put a notch in their legal books. The Hazlewoods finally found the
right attorneys to take on this case. It was not long before Dr. Gurber
had a summons to go to civil court. OF course, the hit team went right to
work. If the Hazlewoods wanted to play, well, it was going to cost them.
Right off the bat, the first volley was fired. In laymen's terms,
the court gave advantage to the Hazlewoods because they were up against the
large amount of resources the Clinic and Dr. Gurber had. This crippled
some of the tactics the hit team were going to use. The battle was going
to be ugly.
There were no freezes on any moneys, but there had to be
accounting. So, normal operation budgets were exempt, but Dr. Gerber's
money and Caroline's money were limited. They could not make any large
moves of funds except for normal living and operating expenses. The Hit
team were allowed funds to mount a defense. Dr. Gurber was guilty before
the trial began. All of this was duly noted.
The underground, (consisting of the RG's and parts of the Gay
community), which took care of some of the first of the patients went into
action. They were going to find out exactly what was going on with the
Hazlewoods. After all, if they managed to get control of the drug and its
rights, then forget the help that the Clinic and all of Dr. Gerber's
organization had contributed to all the communities.
The Hazlewoods and their attorney's had no idea as to the large
group of people wishing to infiltrate their office and organization. At
first, it was the trash being disposed of outside the attorney's offices.
Then it was following around all the investigators looking into things.
Every time an investigator would approach one of the patients or witnesses,
it was reported back to the hit team and proper injunctions were presented
to the court. At the rate it was going, this was going to take 2 years for
the Hazlewoods just to assemble their case and evidence. It became
painfully obvious to their attorneys after only the first month.
Much was presented to the court. Finally, the court decided to be
the broker of witnesses and evidence. There were highly unusual
presidencies set as a result of the legal wrangling.
The Hazlewoods wanted to interview Mary from the first. Mary was
insistent that she didn't trust these people and that she would not consent
to anything unless the court and law enforcement were present. She felt
that she was the main target for any retribution as she was the key
witness. She ended up getting an attorney of her own. (Paid for by the
Gurber foundation.)
The Malay that resulted from the fights over evidence and the
constant injunctions and legal battles resulted in a media frenzy. Every
early patient was called. Every supplier and every researcher involved in
NOL-5 had face time with an attorney. Even Caroline had to give a
deposition. (Of course, under protest.)
All of this wrangling ended up taking a year. It was speed up by a
short tempered judge who saw the attorneys battling it out over ever line.
The hit team had done their job and made it so expensive for the Hazlewoods
to take this action that most of the resources they had were gone. Time
for court and an ending.
Caroline and Allen went to court in their business attire. No fun
and games here. The outside of the courthouse was a zoo. The entire New
Orleans police dept. had to be called to control the crowd outside. Every
group who had an interest in what was happening came out for their side.
Unfortunately for the Hazlewoods, most of the crowds were supporting
Dr. Gurber.
The next big obstacle was picking a jury. Everyone had heard of
Allen and the work he had been doing over the last 5 or 6 years. Everyone
knew who he was. Everyone had an opinion. It finally became obvious that
a jury would not be seated very soon. The judge quickly became frustrated.
It also became obvious that a change in vinue would not help. Allen had
the right to a fair and impartial jury. Jurors were impossible to find.
It was not a thing where the court had much of a choice.
There was another call to the registered voters of Orleans parish
and Jefferson parish for Jurors. Finally, they managed to find 6 souls who
didn't know much about the Gurber foundation. It was finally agreed that
they could finally present evidence.
IT didn't take long for Mary to be called. Mary was the most
important witness in the whole case.
The Hazlewoods group of attorneys asked their questions and
presented the situation as it happened. Of course, their spin on things
were presented. But, it didn't take long for The Gerber's to present their
sides. (It is not necessary for me to repeat the testimony back and forth.
It was pretty much the way things happened.)
Then, the Hazlewoods wanted to call Caroline. This presented a
problem. This was Dr. Gerber's wife. She did not have to testify against
her husband. But, because of the circumstances, She agreed to limited
testimony. The judge in this case made sure that there were no tricks.
Again, all of the testimony was just as it had happened.
Things began to get strange as it was time for Dr. Gurber to be
called as a witness. Just before it was time, the Hazelwood's attorneys
wanted a conference with the judge. As in all cases, The attorneys for
both groups went into chambers. There it was presented to the judge that
there were outside influences disrupting their case. As the Gurber
foundation was not involved in anything, We could not be blamed. They made
several accusations. But, as they could not prove our involvement, they
asked for Dr. Gurber to be held to special rules. More legal mumbo jumbo.
Every legal trick in the book was being used. So far, nothing was making
any headway. The jury was obviously getting tired of the legal wrangling.
We always presented a strong defensive stance. We let them throw their
best shot and we countered it.
Allen basically recounted the complete history of the drug and his
dealings with the Hazlewoods. The way he was treated and others from the
TS community was relayed in graphic detail. Allen was being the Clinical
doctor. Step by step and blow by blow. Questions were directing Allen to
the fact that he had to buy the drug from the Hazlewoods and that in effect
was also illegal. He had broke the law to get a sample of the drug
himself. This was the key point. The Hit team countered with a history of
all the patients Allen and the foundation had helped legally and a question
of what might have happened if the Hazlewoods might have had control of the
drug. It was not pretty.
The lawyers were worried about Ben Carter to be called. Ben as you
remember was the New Orleans city policeman who did not agree to the
treatments. He was unconscious when his doctor put him in the program.
Ben had settled with his doctor and his doctor agreed to pay for the
treatment. Ben had no ill will against Dr. Gurber. He would be friendly
to them as the Clinic was a place of kindness and help.
It was the Hazelwood's contention that as the treatment had been
administered without the patient's permission, this was a prime example of
the abuses in the program. This should not have happened. Ben defended
Allen. He knew he would have died. While he didn't like the side effects
of the drug, it did save his life. Not The clinic's fault. The referring
doctor was at fault. It was still twisted in a way to make it look bad.
Over and over, the Hazlewoods would call a patient and it would
blow up in their faces.
Finally, it was my turn and, I kept to the same story as everyone
else. The Hazlewoods tried to make a play on Dr. Drag. That of course
didn't work. I actually Lied under oath. I had some real secrets.
The frustration was building and the Hazlewoods were grasping at
straws. It was obvious that the case was going to The Gurbers. At that
point, the hit team asked for a motion for dismissal. No one expected what
happened next. Just as the judge granted the dismissal, Mr. Hazlewood
stood and pointed a dart gun at Allen and shot him. Bert and Ken, Our
Secret service friends were in the room, shot Mr. Hazlewood just as a
second dart was loaded into the gun and pointed at Caroline. There were
more darts found in his pocket and all with the same mix of drugs. The
dart gun was full of Aids infected blood and a mix of exotic drugs and
poisons. Allen almost died on the way to the Center clinic. Hazlewood had
mixed up a special potion which was the mutigen from the original formula
and a bunch of female hormones and some nerve toxins. Allen's body was
shutting down. There was more than enough of samples of the poison to get
a good Idea as to what the team was dealing with. A decision was made.
There was no choice but to give him NOL-6. Allen soon recovered from the
poison. I still don't know what the final result was. Allen now, rarely
ever appeared in male dress from that moment on. I had my suspicions as to
what happened. I was looking into His eyes very often and while there was
something wrong, I didn't detect any eye color change. I was the victim of
a sneaky trick. I should have known, but, I wasn't looking for it. All
during the trial and after, the RG's were working on the case. They were
the main source of information gathering. I was a member of this group and
while I was a witness in the trial, I claimed no knowledge of what was
going on in the background. I Lied. The RG's were working with the gay
community, gathering what they could about the Hazlewoods. No one knew
they would try to hurt Allen. We had failed that mission. But as to the
collection of data, well, there were no surprises in the case. Remember
who the Rough Girls were? They were the Party girls and the hustlers who
banded together in the Quarter to protect themselves and the New girls from
undue abuse from anyone. We were the ones who had the reputation of
putting it to anyone who messed with us. We would dress in the Bondage
wear and Dominatrix wear while in the quarter. Everyone knew who we were
and especially me. I got approached more than anyone else. I was the CEO
of the Clinic/hotel know as the Center and a RG. I was never ever messed
with, Just asked to have conversations with prospective patients and people
who were curious about the center and treatments we did. I will always be
a member of the RG's. The RG's had a particular costume or if you will, a
uniform. Because of the nature of the clinic and patients coming and
going, I did not wear my "costume" at work. But it was my responsibility
to wear it when going out in the quarter. I took my role very seriously
and ever off hour was spent in the quarter directing lost souls to where
they needed to be. Some of my sisters wore the costume all the time. They
understood why I didn't. I had been given a little immunity to some of the
rules. But, those who lived in the RG world, were never harrassed by
anyone. Most of us were martial arts trained and also carried some kind of
weapon. We also believed in strenght in numbers. Touch a RG and you would
have 15 big bad females on top of you in two heartbeats.
Mrs. Hazlewood was sentenced to 5 more years in prison because of the
attempt on Dr. Gerber's life. The Civil case was dismissed. Everything
went back to somewhat normal. Dr. Gurber and Caroline continued their work
on Cancer and Aids. They had found a cure. There were other things being
worked on. The Gene map for the human body was being decoded.
It had been know that the attempt on Dr. Gerber's life had made
things very difficult for Allen and Caroline. Finally, I had to ask what
was going on. I was his friend and wanted to know what NOL-6 had done to
him. Allen decided to call the inner circle together just as in the early
days.
We were all gathered together. Me, Mary, Billie and Robert, all of
the original patients, Caroline, and our favorite feds, Bert and Ken.
Allen was in scrubs. But something was defiantly wrong. I had
learned much about the drug we were using and its effects on the body. I
knew that it reversed any process to the opposite of its conclusion to the
extreme. Allen walked into the center of our gathering and started pulling
off his, or now should I say Her clothing. Allen was now Angel.
Allen explained. "The mix of poisons in the dart were specifically
designed to poison and then mutate me so that if we used NOL5 to fight the
condition being induced, it would backfire. We had seen the mix before in
a previous patient who died at the clinic. We had tried to use NOL5 and
the very effect the Hazlewoods wanted, happened to him. He turned into a
mass of cells which couldn't decide what to be. The body became a mass of
jelly. Living Jelly which would not die. We were instantly suspicious as
to the source of the infliction."
I asked. "Why were we not told of this monstrous thing?"
Allen shook his/her head. "We knew this was deliberate. We didn't
want that monster to know that we knew what was going on. We decided to
wait. During that time, there was an accident in the lab. (Recounted in
earlier chapters.) One of the staff was infected by a bomb in the lab.
Aids was released in our lab and accidentally mixed with active cultures.
Nol6 was invented. One of the less known things about 6 was the genetic
mutation which gives immunity to everything and longer life. The mutigen
which was in the poison was designed to mutate my DNA to something which
the opposite of, was monstrous. We caught it. NOL 6 was the result of a
remix of the components of the original mix. It had Aids to react to. We
could now control the outcome. The Mutigen which was used on me was the
same as NOL5 but at 20 times the normal dose. We just redirected the path
Nol6 would take the modifications. I decided to let it turn me into a
female instead of the monster pile of jelly as the first victim. We now
have NOL 6 and I am now going to be Female. You are the only group which
knows the full story now. I may not tell anyone else. I may just let the
world think I just dress funny and let it go. Who knows what we want right
now. I just want peace and quiet. And by the way Leslie, I noticed you
were checking out the color of my eyes frequently. That was my clue you
were figuring out what was really happening. I have been wearing a pair of
painted contacts for months now. My eyes have changed to a solid white
except for the pupil itself."
WE were all speechless. Some of the group just cried and ran up
and hugged the naked Allen/Alice. Some of us wanted revenge. I just sat
there numb and quiet. After all, what could I say. His development had
just began. There was much more transformation to occur. He just had to
endure it. Better than being a mass of jelly.......
One other comment as to the condition Dr. Gurber was left in. As a
result of the large dose of the mutigen, there were things which were
different in reaction to the drug, from a normal patient and dosing. Yes,
Alice was going to be huge breasted living doll. But the radical eye color
and strange dosing was giving Alice unusual abilities. Alice's eyesight
was unusually good and she could hear unusually well. All of her senses
were perfect. The other thing which could not be explained was the full
use of her brain. Most humans only use 10 to 15 percent of their full
mental capasity. The rewrite of her DNA made Alice absolutly perfect in
almost every way. This one fact was hidden from us till much later when a
full review of all the effects of what had happened was revieled.
And Alice would be accepted to the RG's as a full member. You had
to be a new Female to join. We were going to really enjoy the iniation
cerimony. No one had ever told Dr. Gurber of the cerimony and outside the
group, had been kept secret. After all, we had to have some kind of secret
iniation for being a secret group. Made sense to us.
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Just before ending of book, Dr. Gurber and a team of other doctors
including Caroline, find the final answer to the sex change aspect of his
drug. They are now able to cure a cancer at a much slower rate and no sex
change will occur. They discovered that by reducing the amount of the
hormones and leaving the main ingredient alone, they can achieve the
elimination of the cancer but at a slower rate. Instead of working in
"days", it works in Weeks. In the beginning, this had been tried, but
there was an exact ratio which had to be maintained. Dr. Gurber had not
found that ratio until 4 or five years later. The drug still caused an
addiction. But those patients who are about to die in less than two months
still have to go to the extreme form of the drug and have a sex change.
Those patients who are on the extreme form of the Digem drug have to stay
on it. They are addicted to the stronger form of it and will die with out
it. It is the ultimate irony.
The final bit of information......The Gems don't age. The immune
systems prevent aging. Digems are almost immortal. This stirs even more
stuff........
We had managed to get Alice to finally come out. It was difficult
and a decision both Allen and Caroline had to make. Alice was going to be
every bit a DD and probably more. It was one of the side effects of the
drug. The coming out party for Alice was a big blowout in the Quarter. It
was Mardi-Gras al over. Alice was shown a party for one person that New
Orleans had never given before. And who would have thought that a Plastic
surgeon could find a cure for cancer?
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I wrote this book because I wanted to look at what society would do
if the freaks ruled the world. I also wanted to show what kind of power
the doctors of the world have. After all, they are human beings too. As
of right now, there are some cures for some kinds of cancer. This book
showed what could happen if there were a complete cure, at a price. Who
would pay? Everyone would. Who wants to die.
I modeled allot of the characters in this book after people I know and some
of which are named in the book as themselves. (I know lots of people in
the French Quarter. They know who they are.....).
Now, I throw down the gauntlet. I challenge those who have read this
little story to continue it. I want the Digem universe to continue. I
have left several threads of the plot open and unanswered deliberately.
The last chapter of this story is a setup. And why not. After all, sooner
or later, the world has to change. Lets make a statement to everyone out
there as to how we want it to change.
I want to especially thank one person. Marilyn Hartley, who as a
TS, gave me the thoughts in the beginning, which lead to the premise of
this book. Her character portrayed in this book is very like her. Some of
you may know her. Tell her I said hello.
Love to all. Leslie Josette Gill